Growing Despite the Odds
After witnessing the micro aggressions present during the testimony of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson by members of the United States Congress, I was impressed with how gracefully she navigated this unfortunate treatment. It reminded me of research I conducted in my book, Surrounded by Awesome Women. See below for excerpts from Chapter Eight: Combatting the Macro Effects of Micro Aggression.
Women Elected to Congress Inspire Us to Stand Up to Resistance
After Hillary Clinton lost the election for the US presidency to Donald Trump, the subsequent microaggressions toward women and the BIPOC community were everywhere. Women stood up for themselves, courageously starting businesses by running for office. Consequently, the 116th Congress of 2019- 2020 elected 117 women congressional members. It was a noteworthy increase from 1992, the other Year of the Women when an incredible number of women, 28, were elected. (Dan Murphy, “Ocasio-Cortez Not Proud of Westchester Roots,” Yonkers Times, July 18, 2018, accessed February 18, 2021.) (Jennifer E. Manning and Ida A. Brudnick, “Appendix. Total Number of Women Who Served in Each Congress,” Women in Congress — Statistics and Brief Overview, R43244 Version 30 (Washington DC: Congressional Research Service, updated December 4, 2020), 18, accessed February 19, 2021.)
As women were placed in positions of leadership, especially in elected roles in government, women’s empowerment evolved. There was a mind shift from rage and depression to that of collective action on a Ladder of Empowerment. Women resisted the signs of oppression. (Li Zhou, “A Historic New Congress Will Be Sworn in Today,” Vox, January 3, 2019, accessed February 18, 2021.)
As women moved into positions of power, Tactics of Resistance were on full display by those who did not appreciate their voice being heard. Paul Kivel breaks them out in his book, Uprooting Racism. Perpetrators
1. deny their responsibility as they are “not at fault or responsible”
2. minimize the damage of what is happening as “it is not that bad”
3. blame the victim for being “too emotional”
4. claim they did not intend to damage anything because “it was only a joke”
5. put the actions in the past saying “feminism has gone too far”
6. play the victim and claim women “really have all the power”
(Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun, “Ladder of Empowerment,” in Dismantling Racism 2016 Workbook (Durham: dR works, 2016), 27.)
In 2019, these characteristics were present when AOC and other members of the BIPOC community took office.
Growing Despite the Odds
Growing despite micro aggressions will take courage. By taking the steps to move forward with our goal, we motivate the next person to do the same. Some ways we can do this are to learn how to:
- embrace our intelligence
- stand up to aggressivepeople
- value the dignity of employees in our workplace
- align our goals with our values
- provide dignity to employees
Women can feel empowered to grow according to terms that work best for us. We can then salute women growing professionally and celebrate their vulnerability as they go down paths that are new to them.
If we each take these steps, we collectively own our path forward while changing the mindset of those in our wake. As we share our knowledge, or respectfully listen to the courageous souls who are doing it, we create brighter futures for us all.
The above excerpt is taking from Chapter 8 Combatting the Macro Effects of MicroAggression in my book, Surrounded by Awesome Women: Unlocking a New Model of Women’s Success in Business and Entrepreneurship for the Next Decade, published by New Degree Press.
